The Tech Report - Improving the PC as a gaming platform: the hardware.The new spec would clearly involve some compromises, since you can't simply step up and demand that every new computer feature a Radeon 7970, 32GB of RAM, and a six-core CPU with Hyperthingamabobs. However, let's take a page from our own System Guide's Econobox. MPC-HD could set the bar at, say, a Radeon 7770 graphics card ($120 or so) and a Core i3-3220 processor (around $130). Those components provide solid gaming performance at 1080p in the vast majority of titles, even with anti-aliasing enabled. They would be a perfectly reasonable baseline to aim for—one that provides many times the horsepower of current-generations consoles.

Setting a baseline would make life easier for developers, as well. Let's imagine MPC-HD has multiple levels, and when publishing your game, you can simply state that the minimum requirement is MPC-HD Level 1. That's easy for developers to code for, easy for buyers to follow, and easy for manufacturers to advertise and profit from. One can only wish.

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Easy for me and you. But they still don't explain the difference. I even see it here: "I sit directly in front of my monitor, why does viewing angle matter?")

Panel type is better than it has been in the past (Dell used to have some models that could come with either IPS or *VA.) You can also usually infer it from the specified viewing angle.

TV's are worse, though. I hope Apple releases one and pushes other companies towards using higher quality panels. I think their usage of high quality panels in the recent iPhones and iPads has help push the mobile industry in the right direction.